RIP Anthony Bourdain

The past year has been thoroughly rough. Three people I thoroughly loved, Chester Bennington, Chris Cornell and now Anthony Bourdain committed suicide. Probably the most unnoticed anguish of all was Chester, seeing as how every song, literally every song was a cry for help. But every bit as painful, and so baffling is this presentation of a man whose popular persona was that of a person loving every moment of life as he did on every show. I don’t know, it’s just so difficult to process it I guess. Suicide awareness needs to get more run. I don’t know what the answer is, but it has to involve being able to engage folks that are hurting.

 

Not everyone leaves a note. Sometimes they're planned, sometimes not really. Mental problems are like that, can be fine one moment and then completely crash out hours later. There is a video of Chester Bennington just hours before his suicide, where he is happily playing cards with his family. Notes are not necessary, period.

I'll miss Anthony. There was a long period where No Reservations and Bizzare Foods were my favorite shows on tv. Not just for the food, but because both hosts came off as genuine people intent on spreading knowledge not just about food, but about the people, the countries, and the stories that went along with all of it.

 

I was, and always will be, a huge Bordain fan. I've read his books, watched his shows, and cooked his recipes. He was a unique talent who experienced a lot of darkness in his past but reinvented himself and truly seemed to be happy, at least in front of the camera and in his writings.

To bring this all back to beer, it was Bourdain's drink of choice, but he was a beer drinker not a beer thinker. He said, "If it takes more than three seconds to describe the beer I’m drinking, you’ve really defeated the purpose. I feel the same about wine. I don’t need to know what side of the hill it’s grown on." He always enjoyed a good drink but it often complemented a meal or was part of the local experience. It was rarely the focus of his journey. I'm going to miss him but, damn, did he leave an impressive body of work behind.

 

RIP Bourdain. Another huge fan here of the guy and his excellent work.

If you like kölsch, be sure and check out his "Parts Unknown" episode where he visits Cologne. Season 7, episode 7, available on Netlflix. If you're interested though, watch it this week because I think Netflix is dropping the "Parts Unknown" series next weekend.

 

Bullshit. I said that is was at the root, not THE ONLY one.

Try again.

Again, nobody's saying that suicide wouldn't exist without anti-depressant drugs. What people are saying is that the increased prevalence of suicide in modern society has a direct tie to it. The studies are there to prove it. Whether you choose to believe the science is up to you.

 

Suicide rates in people with depression actually increase when antidepressants become involved.

 

I don't deny that these drugs are partly the problem. Personally, I believe there is more at work and it's a nasty combination of modern cultural factors- including drugs- that is causing this current spike. Certainly not drugs alone or predominately. I'm thinking the depersonalizing factors of obsessive electronic behaviors is no help whatsoever, and will be shown to have its own set of negative effects on certain predisposed individuals.......

 

I'll pass. Your comment makes it quite plain that there's no point in bothering.

 

Anyone who's been close to depression and/or suicide knows that blaming drugs as a "root cause" is a failure of knowledge and empathy. I've personally known three suicides, including a former girlfriend, and none of them involved medication. Yes, it can be a contributing factor, but this isn't really a subject to be a contrarian for contrarians' sake about. @rgordon comes closest to the reality of the situation . . . there are massive cultural factors at work, not the least of which is an American culture that favors isolation, individualism, and pharmacological fixes for spiritual problems. The degree to which anyone insists on linear, causal explanations for suicide inversely reveals the limits of his or her compassion.

 

Of course, this is a multi-factorial issue, but it must be recognized that one of those factors is the drugs that are being prescribed to these people.

 

You've just contradicted yourself here. You are in one sentence saying that we shouldn't blame the drugs and in the next saying that they are a contributing factor. Which one is it?

 

You are a very observant and thoughtful contributor, and I read your posts with both relish and trepidation. Don't take this wrong please, but your often didactic manner will/can often put some of us slightly off.....I apologize ahead of time, but I believe it.

 

I realize that. I'm easily frustrated when I sense that someone is misinterpreting my stance on something. Especially if I feel that misinterpretation is purposeful. This is one of those cases. I hoped to not derail this thread about a man that I felt contributed greatly to the enjoyment of many of our lives, but I failed at that because I got caught up in something about which I am very passionate. I apologize for that. RIP Anthony Bourdain. He has been responsible for countless hours of entertainment for me and millions of others around me. He will be terribly missed. I sincerely hope that these things shine a bright light on how we, as a society, deal with the issues that lead him to his unfortunate decision. I apologize to anyone that I upset with my responses to this thread. I really did not mean to go in the direction that I did, but my ego got the best of me and for that I am sorry.

 

There is no clear link whatsoever in adults, and in children the increase is minor and therefore not nearly enough to explain the current data even if it is true (much of the increase is amongst middle aged white men anyway).

Suicide increases have been highest in rural mid/mountain western areas where, if anything, people are less likely to be receiving medical help for their depression. 50% of suicides are committed with a firearm and there are now twice as many guns per capita in the US than there were in 1970. The number of households owning a gun has decreased significantly, but that is due mostly to the movement away from rural living. 60% of rural households own at least one gun. Economic insecurity and inequality has skyrocketed since 1980, and both have clear relationships to mental health generally, and to depression and suicide specifically.

It's possible anti-depressants play some role, but whatever that role may or may not be is dwarfed by several other factors that actually have concrete evidence behind them.

 

I've been closely associated with six suicides and only one that half way made sense. It's a shock, but always in retrospect there often seems to be "seeds" that are relatively like foreshadowing. The thing is, we need to speak to friends, especially during tough times.
Anthony Bourdain was a life artist who bravely showed us who he really was.

 

"Parts Unknown" episodes can be viewed on You Tube.

 

I'd drink Bud Lite out of one of Nigella Lawson's boots if it meant an opportunity to be alone with her!

 

I haven’t said much on this, as I was a fan, and I found his death to be very sad.

There was a picture I came across this morning. It was taken at the Murray bar in Livingston MT. From left to right are Anthony, Margot Kidder and Jim Harrison. Sigh, they’re all gone now.

 

RIP Anthony Bourdain.